


A Big Heart

by GettheSalt



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-29
Updated: 2012-05-29
Packaged: 2017-11-06 06:04:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/415559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GettheSalt/pseuds/GettheSalt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off of the passing mention of the Wizard of Oz in the film. Thar be spoilers ahead, though they are exceptionally mild.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Big Heart

Tony should count himself lucky, right at this moment, really. All things considered, it could be worse than being in the position that he was in. Judging by the looks on Natasha and Clint’s faces, they were thinking much the same. Unless his eyesight was going, Tony was almost sure he could see Natasha’s lip curling as brightly coloured midgets danced across the screen, their frankly tinny and ear-bleeding pitches filling the room from every perfectly mounted speaker connected to the sound system. Clint, on the other hand, just looked like he was trying to turn off all of his senses and go to a happy place – that didn’t involve a yellow brick road and ruby slippers. Bruce seemed to be faring better than the other two, tucked into an armchair, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement, possibly at the discomfort of the two assassins, but maybe it had more to do with the other two in room.

Speaking of the elephants in the room…

Steve had been only too ready to help Thor understand the reference that he had missed back when they’d been dealing with the fallout of his little brother’s untimely hissy fit; the crack that Fury had made about flying monkeys. It seemed like forever and a day ago that it had been made, but still, Thor remembered to ask, and Steve was only too willing to suggest that – since they weren’t all that busy as a team at the moment – they get their hands on a copy of the Wizard of Oz and watch it – as a team. Had to respect the guy’s wholesome family values. Sure, they could have – and did – just explained to Thor that it was from a movie, but, hey, they didn’t have movies and cinemas on Asgard so the big guy had no clue what that was supposed to mean.

And then Pepper had chimed in that it was a classic and Thor would probably love it. Planted the idea in Steve’s head, Tony was fairly sure of that. He’d have to talk to her about her power of suggestion sometime.

But back to Steve and Thor…

Steve was, to put it mildly, in his glory. Sure, he probably hadn’t seen the Wiz since it was in theatres – in 1939 – but he didn’t seem to have forgotten any of the finer details, and Thor was hanging on his every word. Steve was being unbelievably patient, too, since Thor seemed to have a question every two minutes, or at least, something to add regarding the behaviours of something from his world or the worlds surrounding it. But the pair of them were bonding over Judy Garland’s heel-clicking, Toto toting adventure, and maybe it was a little cute.

“This fellow reminds me of yourself, Man of Iron,” Thor commented, waving at the Tin Man while he, Dorothy and Scarecrow skipped off down the yellow brick road. Tony gave the screen a once over, but before he could open his mouth and get out the biting remark that had fallen on his tongue, Steve added his own two cents.

“Except, just like the Tin Man, Tony already has a heart. A big one.”

Tony did his best to ignore the smirk crawling its way onto Clint’s face. The archer might not say anything, but he didn’t need to, and that was the annoying thing about it. Bruce had disguised his reaction in a terrible stage cough, and Natasha’s cool stare spoke volumes about her internal feelings on the matter. Thor, well, it went right over Thor’s head as he nodded, eyes still glued to the screen.

And Steve?

Steve seemed to have noticed, belatedly, the exact connotations of what he’d said, and shot Tony a sheepish smile and the shrug of one shoulder, like that made up for the relentless jokes that Clint was going to drop for the next two weeks, and the cool passing statements he could probably count on from Natasha, and the innocent ‘so, how are things with you and Steve?’ that Bruce would pass him in the lab over their latest project. He considered himself lucky that Thor considered things like this – these ‘Midgardian courtings’ – to be par for the course and nothing he wasn’t used to hearing, nor did he care to tease. At least he could take solace in the company of the original He-Man.

But he’d be lying if Steve’s comment wasn’t sitting the same way a warm drink in his belly would. He was terrible at this relationship stuff, at least when it came to Steve’s old-fashioned ways, but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t get to him a little. It didn’t get him… flustered, not exactly, but that was what Pepper would probably call it.

It was just kind of nice, he guessed.

He gave a shrug and an agreeable nod. “That comes with the whole philanthropist thing.”

There, saved the moment. Maybe. Probably not. Clint would discredit anything he’d said to save it and continue on with sweepingly bad poetry readings across the breakfast table about Steve and the bigness of Tony’s heart or something.

If Tony really thought about it though? It was a small price to pay for a really good thing.


End file.
